I have not followed this whole thread, but as the director of a small public
history program that has placed nearly all of its graduates in museum
positions, I would like to add a few thoughts.

First, in my experience, telling people who have an interest in a museum
career that jobs are few and the salaries less than they might like does not
persuade most people to not enroll. I try to be very candid with prospective
students and I suspect most people who direct programs are - but at the time
of enrollment many are not ready for the information. Many people think that
they will be different, I guess, or their enthusiasm blocks their ability to
hear what is being said.

While there are many advantages to larger, established programs, there are
advantages to smaller ones too -- we can devote more energy to helping
students develop an effective course of study, find appropriate internships
and other experiences to make them stronger candidates for jobs, and work with
them on placement. We have a great deal of flexibility to customize a program,
within some broad parameters. One reason we have kept our program small is to
help insure we can place the people we graduate. There is no point in a large,
but unplacable graduating class.

All that said, if you are interested in substantial financial rewards for your
work, museums (or college teaching for that matter) are probably not careers
you should pursue. It may not be just in a larger, cosmic sense, but it is the
way it is and I see little likelihod that it will change any time soon. There
are jobs, but they are often not in larger cities or in larger museusm and the
starting salaries are not high, but they offer a lot of other rewards and a
start to a career.
Bill Mulligan


William H. Mulligan, Jr.
Associate Professor of History
Director, Forrest C. Pogue Public History Institute
Murray State University
Murray KY 42071-3341
270/762-6571 Fax 270/762-6587

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